Chilean copper exports and short term price fluctuations: Ownership and type of product compared

摘要

The great copper expansion during the 1990s puts back in the industry not only private players but also the production of concentrates. Do private firms allocate exports differently than state owned firms? Are private firms more market oriented than their state owned counterparts? In what sense exports of concentrates are different from exports of refined copper? This paper intends to clarify these issues with both a monthly aggregate data set from 1978 to 2002 and a monthly panel data from 1990 to 2002. It finds that both types of aggregate exports show no response to price fluctuations during the 1980s but the 1990s. However, with this aggregate data the reaction during the 1990s is positive for concentrates and negative for refine exports. The results from the panel data find that only Enami, out of the seven Chilean producers with complete data since 1990, has a negative price response. All the others, including Codelco show positive response. It also finds that private firms are more price responsive than state-owned firms, and concentrate exporters are more price responsive than refined exporters.